Beate Roessler - Autonomy

1 Cover

2 Autonomy Autonomy In everyday life, we generally assume that we can make our own decisions on matters which concern our own lives. We assume that a life followed only according to decisions taken by other people, against our will, cannot be a well-lived life – we assume, in other words, that we are and should be autonomous. However, it is equally true that many aspects of our lives are not chosen freely: this is true of social relations and commitments but also of all those situations we simply seem to stumble into, situations which just seem to happen to us. The possibility of both the success of an autonomous life and its failure are part of our everyday experiences. In this brilliant and illuminating book, Beate Roessler examines the tension between failing and succeeding to live an autonomous life and the obstacles we have to face when we try to live our life autonomously, obstacles within ourselves as well as those that stem from social and political conditions. She highlights the ambiguities we encounter, examines the roles of self-awareness and self-deception, explores the role of autonomy for the meaning of life, and maps out the social and political conditions necessary for autonomy. Informed by philosophical perspectives but also drawing on literary texts, such as those of Siri Hustvedt and Jane Austen, and diaries, including those of Franz Kafka and Sylvia Plath, Roessler develops a formidable defense of autonomy against excessive expectations and, above all, against overpowering skepticism. Beate Roessler is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam.

3 Dedication Dedication For Rebecca “Me wherever my life is lived, O to be self-balanced for contingencies” Walt Whitman, “Me Imperturbe”

4 Title Page Autonomy An Essay on the Life Well Lived Beate Roessler Translated by James C. Wagner polity

5 Copyright Page

6 Preface to the English edition

7 Preface

8 Introduction: Autonomy in Everyday Life Notes

9 1 What is Autonomy? A Conceptual Approach Remarks on the history of the concept Negative freedom, positive freedom, autonomy Conditions of individual autonomy Autonomy and rational plans Notes

10 2 Ambivalences Various forms of ambivalence Ambivalence as a disease of the will Is an ambivalent will a healthy will? The ambivalent self Conflicts of ambivalence as conflicts of identity Autonomy and the acceptance of conflicts Notes

11 3 Autonomy and the Meaning of Life Why do we value autonomy? Sisyphus contented Does the meaning of life consist in the satisfaction of desire? The objective meaning of life Mill’s crisis and subjective meaning in life When does the question of meaning arise? Notes

12 4 Autonomy, Self-Knowledge, and Self-Deception Self-knowledge and self-determination Self-deception: how can I be mistaken about myself? How can self-knowledge fail? On fundamental epistemic uncertainties The quantified self Notes

13 5 Autonomy, Self-Thematization, Self-Examination: From Diaries to Blogs Self-examination, self-control, reflection Why diaries? And which diaries? Autonomy in the diary: examples Blogs and the new technologies of self-examination What is the framework of autonomy? Notes

14 6 Autonomous Choice and the Good Life The question of the good life and perfectionism Happiness, autonomy, and meaning The significance of choosing: conditions of an autonomous decision Who actually chooses and in what context? Alienation (and authenticity) Virtue and character Notes

15 7 Private Life Why privacy? Dimensions of privacy Informational privacy, social relationships, and autonomy Autonomous persons in relationships (I) Autonomy and domestic privacy: autonomous persons in relationships (II) Privacy and democratic society Notes

16 8 Social Preconditions of Autonomy What are social conditions? The social constitution of autonomy Autonomy, ideology, and adaptive preferences Social opportunities and justice Between autonomy and oppression: limiting cases Notes

17 9 The Reality of Autonomy Autonomy is not an illusion The significance of social practices Social unfreedom and implicit bias Aspects of moral responsibility Autonomy and the life well lived Notes

18 Bibliography

19 Index

20 End User License Agreement

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2 Table of Contents

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In everyday life, we generally assume that we can make our own decisions on matters which concern our own lives. We assume that a life followed only according to decisions taken by other people, against our will, cannot be a well-lived life – we assume, in other words, that we are and should be autonomous. However, it is equally true that many aspects of our lives are not chosen freely: this is true of social relations and commitments but also of all those situations we simply seem to stumble into, situations which just seem to happen to us. The possibility of both the success of an autonomous life and its failure are part of our everyday experiences.